The Best Cast Iron Seasoning Method!
A few years ago I ran across this special kind of cast iron seasoning. I was fairly happy until that point with my cast iron but I’m always looking to improve things. Plus this method promised that I could keep my pans clean, without a film of grease on them. I was convinced to give it a try. I used this method 2 years ago on 4 frying pans and have been thrilled with the result ever since. Those pans had been in use for several years and had been seasoned several times in those years using various methods. Nothing lasted as well as this one has lasted. Unless I do some damage to these pans I assume I’ll never have to season them again. At minimum they have a great non-stick surface and are very low maintenance.
Ok so what is so special about this seasoning? Typically it is advised that to season cast iron you use a high heat compatible cooking oil. Lard, coconut oil, olive oil, and others are often suggested as the best choice. While they will season your pans often you also need to keep a layer of grease on them in storage and the seasoning is soft and prone to being broken down by cooking acidic foods or liquid foods and then the pan needs to be “reseasoned”. I used instructions like those for years and thought that I was pretty happy with my pans. This method however produces a much harder finish on the pans and you can store the pan perfectly dry without any fat on it at all!
Believe it or not it isn’t a high heat oil but one that you have probably learned that you shouldn’t ever cook with.Flax Oil (affiliate link).
This method was “discovered” by a woman who was trying to understand the chemistry of oils and what you actually want to have happen when you season a pan. I put discovered in quotes because once she figured it out a quick google search told her that others were already using flax oil to season cast iron pans. Here is why.
After skeptically reading her post a few years ago I was convinced and decided to try it out. Indeed it has proven to create a very hard durable finish on my cast iron cookware. I now consider it imperative that all cast iron that I use be seasoned or re-seasoned using this method.
Just a few weeks ago I saw a Double Dutch Oven and Casserole with Skillet Cover on special on Amazon. I have been wanting one and we are going camping this summer so I finally bought it. Here is is fresh out of the box. It looks like it has a fantastic finish on it already, doesn’t it?
Upon closer inspection I could see that this finish/seasoning was flaking off already. It clearly was not tightly bonded to the iron. I also knew that it was made from soy oil. I don’t want blackened soy oil in my food so I needed to reseason this pan before I used it.
The first thing that you need to do to reseason a pan is to remove all of the old seasoning from it. I have read about a few different methods. The one that I use however is to run the pan through the clean cycle on my oven. You can also “cook” it on a very hot bbq grill or in a campfire. You are wanting to burn off all the oil that was used to season it.
This is what my new pan looked like after the clean cycle of my oven.
You need to plan this for a day when you can leave the windows in the kitchen open. It smells terrible when you are burning off all that soy oil and other residue.
Here is another pan that I have had that needed to be seasoned as well. This is an antique that we got from my husband’s grandfathers estate. It isn’t very obvious in this picture but there are lots of exotic wild animals on this pan. My younger daughter has been begging me to make her something in this pan. Step one is to season it properly.
I have one more unusual pan that came from my husband’s grandfather’s estate that you will get to see in a minute.
Once you have burned off all of the seasoning and old oil you need to scrub off any residue. I used a Stainless Steel Pot Scrubber. You can also use a wire Grill Brush. Go ahead and rinse it too and be sure you got all the residue off. I should mention that the pan will be very hot when it comes out of the oven so be careful! Also one of cast iron’s qualities is that it holds onto the heat for a while so be prepared for it to take a while to cool. I used my Ove’ Gloves for this job. (I use them every single day that I cook. I love my ove gloves!)
Once you have it clean put it into a 200 degree oven to dry off (if necessary) and warm up and open the pores of the metal so that it will better bond to the seasoning you will be applying.
When it is warm remove it from the oven and coat it well with flax oil. Be careful the pan will be hot. Then using a paper towel or a lint free cloth remove all of the flax oil from the surface of the pan. This will leave a very thin coating on the surface of the pan. This coating will be pretty much invisible and that is good. You want it to be very thin.
Turn the oven up to 500 (or as hot as it will go) and return the pan to the oven. Bake it for 1 hour. Then let it sit in the oven for another hour. Do not open the oven till the second hour is up. (I use my time bake setting).
After the second hour remove the pan from the oven. It will probably look about like it went in. You need to add another coating of flax at this point. Then bake and let sit as before.
Repeat this process until at least 6 coats are on the pan. Some seem to need more coats than others. I did 9 coats on my favorite skillet before it looked really shiny and protected. Isn’t this pan beautiful?
Once it is done the results are really amazing. This skillet I did 2 years ago and the finish is still incredible. All that I do is wash it out with hot water and dry it in a warm oven or on a warm burner. I made scrambled eggs in it this morning and took a picture of what it looked like after they were cooked. You can see that it did stick a tiny bit in the middle but for the most part it is a non-stick surface when it is used correctly.
One key to cooking eggs in a cast iron pan is to get it good and hot and the fat melted before you put the eggs in the pan. Once they are in the pan, don’t mess with the eggs. Just leave them to cook till the bottom is getting firm before you stir them or otherwise disturb them. If you do that and your eggs still stick badly you probably need some more layers of flax seasoning on your pan. Go ahead and get it perfectly clean and repeat the steps to add some more layers to it. You should not have to burn off the flax and start from scratch. However, if you are heating your empty pan on the stove and walk away for an hour and come back to discover that it is glowing and when it cools you can see that the finish is ruined (not that I would ever do something like that…..) then you do need to start at the beginning with that pan.
Do you have cast iron cookware? What is your favorite way to season it? Leave your comments below.
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I have never bought a preseasoned pan. I really like finding them at garage sales or thrift stores and re-season them. It takes a while but it is worth it.
I have never bought a preseasoned pan. I really like finding them at garage sales or thrift stores and re-season them. It takes a while but it is worth it.
Yep, that’s how I do it too. Works like a charm!
Yep, that’s how I do it too. Works like a charm!
Tammy Barney
Tammy Barney
Sara
Sara
Thanks for this information! I recently made a bread recipe in my cast iron dutch oven that called for preheating at 500 degrees. When the pan was ready for the bread to go in…..i reached with my pot holder and thankfully just as i touched the handle and before I was holding onto the handle…..i could tell the pot holder was melting…and began to feel the heat. I was so thankful that the pan was still in the oven and I wasnt hurt. This is the first time I have used my cast iron in the oven. Does the glove you mention keep your hand safe at the 500 degree temps when you need to remove the pan and not let the pan cool first? I wont be trying this recipe (altho the bread is great!) again until I am sure of a heat safe oven mitt. Thanks! I am certain my pans need to be seasoned again….but the summer heat dictates it wait till winter.
I have the super thick cotton mits from pampered chef. I can grab anything with those.
BBQ works great for seasoning cast iron…. I find bacon grease works best, do not allow any grease puddles as they will crack and bubble, always wipe pan as it heats up.. always store with lids off or any oil used will smell rancid and change the taste of your food.
Yes these ove gloves will protect your hands for that job. We adore ours and use them every single day.
Thanks, Gina! I’d given up on using my cast iron and was just waiting for a porcelain finish one, but may have to try this!
Thanks, Gina! I’d given up on using my cast iron and was just waiting for a porcelain finish one, but may have to try this!
Do you have to burn off the finish that is already on, even if it’s seasoned by me already? I think this sounds great and I’ve been about ready to toss my cast iron away it’s such a pain to try to clean so I want to try this and do it right. Thanks!
Yes you do need to get down to the bare iron before you can start this method.
so just to be clear - one hour at 500. Then turn off the oven and let it sit in a cooling oven for another hour?
then take out and let it cool enough to recoat with flax oil and repeat six times?
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Patty, this is awesome! Thank you so much-I can’t wait to try it. I know gluten contaminates cast iron pans (gets stuck in the surface…so because we’re gluten-free (GAPS), I never buy cast iron secondhand (but wish I could). Do you know if stripping the old seasoning and then re-seasoning as you directed will seal it up and get rid of any gluten contamination? Would this method make it possible for me to pick up some fun cast iron secondhand? Thanks again for the great post.
I asked KerryAnn of Intentionally Domestic since she has Celiac and has done a lot of research into it. She said that some people report being glutened from pans that they have stripped and reseasoned. She has no information about what methods they may have used. It seems to me that this might work to protect you from any gluten that is still on the pan but I can’t be certain. No one in my family is quite that sensitive. I still have the same cast iron pans from our gluten days and even before I stripped and reseasoned them we never reacted to them.
Are those all your cast iron pans? The Pig one is so fun!
Are those all your cast iron pans? The Pig one is so fun!
Yes.
Now I’ve got to figure out what to make with the animal one. My younger daughter keeps begging for something in it.
Yes.
Now I’ve got to figure out what to make with the animal one. My younger daughter keeps begging for something in it.
I saw a comment about Cast iron pans potentially having lead. I hadn’t ever heard that before so I looked into it and quickly found this comment.
Re: “You don’t want anything not made in the USA. It might contain lead.”
Baldersash. Unlike things made a ceramic coating, which might well contain lead, it would be almost impossible for cast iron to contain lead.
Why? Lead melts at 327 C, whereas iron doesn’t melt until 1535 C. In fact, lead would be boiling (1748 C) at the temperatures that cast iron is worked (roughly 2000 C)! This means it would be leaving the molten iron via the air, so it cannot be in cast iron.”
From herehttp://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cookware/msg0313574416368.html
I saw a comment about Cast iron pans potentially having lead. I hadn’t ever heard that before so I looked into it and quickly found this comment.
Re: “You don’t want anything not made in the USA. It might contain lead.”
Baldersash. Unlike things made a ceramic coating, which might well contain lead, it would be almost impossible for cast iron to contain lead.
Why? Lead melts at 327 C, whereas iron doesn’t melt until 1535 C. In fact, lead would be boiling (1748 C) at the temperatures that cast iron is worked (roughly 2000 C)! This means it would be leaving the molten iron via the air, so it cannot be in cast iron.”
From herehttp://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cookware/msg0313574416368.html
What do you think of toxicity? Obviously you must have found that its safe because you are you! Haha! I’m just hoping you can comment a bit because I always thought that flax oil gives its awesome finish via the oil becoming rancid. I know they use it for finishing wood to (called linseed oil-of course that stuff is not pure by any means, but I think it’s the rancid it’s process and not the purity of the oil that’s of interest to me. Thanks so much!!
“The rancidity process”. Sorry-typing on a phone.
Hi Tamara,
The flax oil becomes a solid coating on the pan. It does not mix with your food. The high heat actually polymerizes the flax oil in this method. It makes it into plastic almost but one that resists high heat.
Thank you! Have you tried doing this with those pesky mini muffin pans? I wonder if everything would stop sticking to them then.
Hi Renee,
I have done it with mini-muffin pans and they do still stick. I think that they need more layers of flax oil. I can’t remember how many I put on them. One issue is that the iron in the cups isn’t super smooth and so that clings to the food, even when well greased on top of this seasoning. I wonder if you treat them like you do pancakes and heat up the muffin pan first, before putting the batter in….. Hmmm… Try that and report back.
My oven instructions say to remove all wire racks before doing the self cleaning cycle. Do you leave your rack in and it is okay? I just don’t want to have an accident!
Well my oven came with my house and I have no instruction booklet so I have always run the cleaning cycle with the wire racks in it and never had a problem. I can’t say if you will have the same experience or not.
The only problem I have with this method is the self cleaning of an oven. I read a pretty detailed review about it being very dangerous for our health. Don’t remember all the details, but the oven when heated, produces some chemical fumes that are very hazardous for our health. Is there any alternative to that? Thank you
Hi Fada,
That is why I say to do it on a day when you can open the windows. Some people want you to spray oven cleaner on the pan which in my opinion is much more toxic long term. That said you can do anything that will get the pan very hot for an extended period of time. If you have a bbq grill you can put it in there on high or put it into a camp fire of some kind. Anything that will get it over 500 degrees for an extended period of time and burn off the current finish on the pan.
where did you get the Cast Iron waffle iron I have been looking for one for 20 years
Mine was my husband’s grandfathers. However, Amazon now has them to buy. Here is my affiliate link to one. http://amzn.to/1743lSC
Hello, I just tried this method. It took me about a week to do and the first time I used the pan it chipped. I made sure the pan was cleaned smoothly down to the raw elements and I did do thin layers. I’m so upset. I was so looking forward to having a new cast iron pan to cook in.
Help please.
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I’m not sure what you mean. I can’t even see how this could chip. Where is the chip? This is not an enameled cast iron, right?
This is very interesting since some cast iron site are death on using flax seed oil they say it chips off. I guess I will just have to try it to see since experts disagree.
You might want to correct the following word in your article:
” prone to being broken down BOY cooking ” (found in second
full paragraph).
Thank you Donna! All fixed.
Hello, I hope you can shed some light on a pan I just picked up…..It look exactly like your husbands grandfathers ANIMAL COOKIE PAN, with the TWISTED HANDLES! Do you know anything about it?…maker or age?….or anything at all?….The only mark I can find is a Capitol “G” on one handle?…Thank you in advance, Ana
Sorry I don’t know anything about the pans origin.
flax is the only drying oil? hardly. I use walnut oil. & any drying oil will polymerise (that’s what ‘drying’ means) even if you don’t heat it up.
also, the best seasoning I ever had on a pan was when the first time I used it was over a campfire. I concluded that the smoke particles help to seal it up, kind of like they do a hide.